2.15.2005

The more things change . . .

Hey, you! Yeah, you . . . with your Moosehead in one hand and a joint in the other. If you could pause in celebrating Doctor Dino's "victory" over the forces of inertia, boredom, and post-Kerry catatonia, there's a little something I'd like you to read.

Although he would likely be more sparing in its application, Dean has endorsed the Bush doctrine of preventive war, saying that he would not rule out using military force to disarm either North Korea or Iran. Dean has never voiced an objection to the notion that it is Washington's prerogative to decide which countries may have nuclear weapons, or its right to forcefully disarm those who do not do so voluntarily . . .

Dean's notion about the causes of anti-US belligerence echoes that of the current administration. He has gone on record saying as much: "I think our freedom is what they find so threatening, our freedom and the power that I think results from that freedom." This analysis can not honestly address the real issues behind the antagonism the United States currently incurs, and will consequently require ever greater military funding to handle the global consequences . . .

For environmentalists, EP, under Dean's leadership, came to mean "Expedite Permits", rather than Environmental Protection. Business leaders were especially impressed with the way Dean went to bat for them against Vermont's stringent environmental regulations . . .

So, uh, maybe Dean just ain't so lefty after all, eh?

Y'know, we're so busy yelling the "truth" at the Right that we've missed the truth about ourselves: we're so damned marginalized and disenfranchised we need binoculars to see our noses. And this is only the beginning. Let me remind you that there weren't any "good old days"; that at its peak-best, the US government and American society have been deluded, manipulative, and cruel; and now, what spare good there was in the system is about to bleed out, soon, probably for ever.

We neither want nor need the Howard Deans out there. We need each other, and we better get crackin'